Repair press for pallet stringers

ABSTRACT

The press includes a support table comprised of a pair of outrigger assemblies carrying upstanding ballbearings. A pair of arms are carried by the press and at like ends mount press platens having magnets recessed in opposed platen faces for supporting reinforcing plates to be embedded into the sides of the damaged stringer portion undergoing repair. One of the arms is pivotally secured to the press at a location intermediate the ends of the arm. The opposite ends of the arms mount a hydraulic cylinder whereby the platen carried by the pivotally mounted arm is movable toward and away from the other fixed platen. In use, a pallet is disposed on the bearings and located such that the portion of the stringers undergoing repair is positioned between the opposed platen faces. The cylinder is actuated to pivot the one arm whereby the platens embed the teeth of the reinforcing plates carried thereby into the opposite sides of the stringer.

United States Patent 1191 Jureit et a1.

1111 3,823,861 [451 July 16, 1974 REPAIR PRESS FOR PALLET STRINGERS [75] Inventors: John Calvin Jureit, Coral Gables; Benjamin Harry Kushner, Miami, both of Fla.

[73] Assignee: Automated Building Components,

Inc., Miami, Fla.

[22] Filed: Mar. 26, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 344,642

Craig Bowman 227/152 Primary Examiner-Granville Y. Custer, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or Firm-LeBlanc & Shur ABSTRACT The press includes a support table comprised of a pair -of outrigger assemblies carrying upstanding ballbearings. A pair of arms are carried by the press and at like ends mount press platens having magnets recessed in opposed platen faces for supporting reinforcing plates to be embedded into the sides of the damaged stringer portion undergoing repair. One'of the arms is pivotally secured to the press at'a location intermediate the ends of the arm. The opposite ends of the arms mount a hydraulic cylinder whereby the platen carried by the pivotally mounted. arm is movable toward and away from the other fixed platen. In use, a pallet is disposed on the bearings and located such that the portion of the stringers undergoing repair is positioned between the opposed platen faces. The cylinder is actuated to pivot the one arm whereby the platens embed the teeth of the reinforcing plates carried thereby into the opposite sides of the stringer.

10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures ga e o o @f' K /woo TPATENTEDJULI 8l974 3.823.861 sum 3 or a 1 REPAIR PRESS FOR PALLET STRINGERS The present invention relates to a press and particularly relates to a pressfor repairing damaged portions of a pallet stringer by applying reinforcing plates along that in use, the pallets are usually handled or mishandled quite roughly and the deckboards and stringers of the pallet are commonly damaged. Moreover, the tines of the forklifts very often inadvertently chip, crack or actually fracture the stringers of the pallet particularly when th tines run directly into the stringers upon' attempted insertion of the forklift tines. It will thus be appreciated that after long use the pallet looses its structural integrity and is .no longer serviceable. Once-the The present invention provides a press for repairing such damaged pallet stringers and'particularly provides a press adapted to apply reinforcing plates in overlying relation on opposite sides of the damaged portions of the stringers. The plates are of the type having teeth struck integrally therefrom to project on the side of the plate and, in accordance with the present invention,

these teeth are pressed into the sides of the stringer to reinforce the damaged portion of the stringer and-in some cases to carry a substantial portion of the load normally carried by such stringer. Specifically, the present press includesabase mounting a pair of outrigger supports adjacent one end of the base. These supports carry upstanding casters or roller bearings whereby a palletcan be disposed on the outrigger support and readily shifted about in a generally horizontal plane with minimum effort. The press also includes a 'fixed arm mounting a platen between and elevated slightly above the outrigger supports. Another arm is pivotally mounted to the fixed arm and also carries a platen in lateral opposition to the first mentioned platen. These platens each carry a magnet recessed 'in their lateral faces whereby the reinforcing plates can be supported on the platen faces prior to embedding the teeth of the plates into the sides of the damaged stringer. The opposite ends of these arms carry a hydraulic cylinder whereby the platen on the pivoted arm can be moved toward and. away from the platen carried by the fixed arm by extension and retraction, respectively, of the piston rod carried by the cylinder.

Accordingly, reinforcing plates are disposed on the pallet faces with theirteeth projecting toward one another. A pallet is then disposed on-the outrigger supports and shifted horizontally on the roller bearings such that the damaged portion of the stringer lies b e-v tween the platen faces and the plates carried thereby. Preferably. the damaged stringer is disposed directly adjacent the platen and reinforcing plate carried by the v fixed arm. By actuating the hydraulic cylinder, the

pallet is damagedto this extent, it is normally scrapped 'in favor of a new the r opposite platen thus embedding the teeth ofthe plates carried by the platens into the opposite sides of the stringer disposed therebetween. The hydraulic cylinder exerts sufficient force such that the outer faces of the reinforcing plates when finally embedded lie flush along the opposite sides of the stringer. Upon movement of the platen away from the stringer, the pallet can be shifted along the supports toeither locate another damaged stringer portion between the pallets. or to remove the 'pallet from the press. L

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved press for repairing damaged stringers in a pallet construction.

lt is another object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved press for repairing the damaged portions of pallet stringers by applying thereto a pair of reinforcing plates on opposite sidesof the damaged portion, the plates being characterized by teeth struck integrally from the plates and projecting to one side thereof. 'It' is still another object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved press for repairing the damaged portions of pallet stringers which facilitates movement of the pallet relative to the press whereby the damaged portions of the stringers can readily and easily located in repair position between the platens of the press. v

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved pallet repair press which is readily, easily and economically constructed and which can be readily operated by a single workman.

lt is a still further object of the present invention to provide a pallet repair press having the foregoing characteristics wherein the plates applied to thestringers are embeddedsuch that their outside faces lie, flush with the side faces of the pallet stringers.

These and further objects of the present invention .will become more apparent upon reference to the following specification, claims and drawings wherein: 1

FIG. 1 is a plan .view of a press for repairing the stringers of a pallet with parts of the pallet broken away to illustrate the action of the press;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view thereof with part of the end stringer of the pallet broken away to illustrate the press action;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the press looking from right to left in FIG. 1; e

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the press taken generally about on line 44 in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the pallet with a reinforcing plate applied to the pallet stringer. I

Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrateda press, generally indicated 10, for applying plates l2 of the type having integrally struck teeth to the opposite sides of the stringer of a pallet generally designated P. The plates 12 may be of the type described andillustrated in US. Pat. No. 2,877,520 of common assignee herewith and the disclosure of that patent is incorporated herein by reference as though fully set forth herein.

Press 10 includes a base comprised of a pair of laterally spaced generally T-shaped (FIG. 2) upstanding support plates 14 mounted on a pair of transversely ex tending plates or feet 16. Gusset plates 18 are applied between legs 14 to reinforce the base structure of the press. Additionally, a pair of transversely extending plates and 22 extend between upstanding plates 14 adjacent their upper ends. Openings 23 (FIG. 2) are provided along the lower margins of plates 14 for receiving the tines of a forklift truck whereby the press hereof can be moved by a forklift as desired.

Adjacent the forwardend of the press there is provided a pair of outrigger supports for pallet P and which outrigger supports each comprising a frame 24 including longitudinally and transversely extending interconnected angles or beams 26 and 28, respectively. Preferably, three longitudinally extending beams 26 are provided in each outrigger support frame with each beam 26 carrying a plurality of longitudinally spaced upstanding ball bearings 30. Each outrigger frame 24 is supported by a pair of gusset plates 32 suitably secured to the corresponding plate 14.

It will be appreciated that the outrigger frames support a pallet P for movement in a generally horizontal plane whereby the portion of the stringer requiring repair may be located in a pressing position. As will be understood, a pallet P comprises a plurality of transversely spaced'stringers S interconnected by a plurality of longitudinally spaced deckboards D, the deckboards being applied conventionally to both the top and bottom edges of the stringers. Thus, pallet P canbe disposed on the outrigger support frames with the deckboards bearing on the ball bearings 30. In this manner, the pallet can be readily shifted in a horizontal plane to alignthe portion of the stringer undergoing repair between the platens of the repair press hereof.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the press hereof includes pivotally joined fixed and movable arms 50 and 52, respectively. The fixed arm 50 is secured to a pair of laterally extending support brackets 54 secured adjacent the upper edge of upstanding plate 14 and reinforced by gussets 56. Particularly, bearing plates 58 are disposed between brackets 54 and arm 50 and bolts 60 are received through the arm 50, bearing plates 58 and brackets 54 to rigidly secure arm 50 to the press frame. The forward end of arm 50 carries a laterally facing platen 64 having magnets 66 received in the platen face for holding plate 12 on the platen face prior to securement of plate 12 to. the stringer undergoing repair.

On opposite sides of arm 50, there are provided transversely extending slates 68 and 70 which have inner ends lying on opposite sides of a laterally inwardly projecting car 74 formed on the inner side of arm 50. Ear 74 and the inner ends of brackets 68 and 70 have vertically registering openings for receiving a bearing 76, to which arm 52 is pivotally secured. Particularly, arm 52 has a pair of transversely extending plates 78 and 80 which are secured as by .welding on opposite sides thereof. Plates 78 and 80 project inwardly such that the ends of arms 78 and 80 overlie the ends of arms 68 and 70, respectively. Suitable aperforcing plate 12 prior to its final securement to the pa]- let.

The ends of arms 50 and 52 remote from the platen 64 and 90 are coupled one to the other by a hydraulically actuated cylinder 94. Particularly, one end of cylinder 94 carries a clevis 96 and a pin 97 for pivotally securing the cylinder to an end of arm 50. The piston rod 98 of cylinder 94 carries a clevis 100 at its free end. Clevis 100 is pivotally secured to the end of arm 52 by a pin 102. It will be appreciated that actuation of cylinder 94 to retract piston rod 98 causes arm 52 to pivot such that platen 90 is moved away from platen 64 while extension of piston rod 98 causes arm 52 to pivot such that platen 90 is moved toward platen 64.

To utilize the press hereof, reinforcing plates 12 are disposed on the platen faces with theirteeth facing one another, the magnets 66 and 92 holding the plates in opposition toeach other on the platen faces. A pallet P is then disposed on the frames 24 and shifted to locate the damaged portion of one of its stringers between the platens 64 and 90 and the reinforcing plates carried thereby. Preferably, the damaged portion of the stringer is located such that it engages the tipsof the teeth of the reinforcing plate carried by fixed arm 50. With the pallet thus positioned, hydraulic cylinder 94 isactuated to extend piston rod'98 thereby pivoting arm 42 from the dashed line configuration illustrated in FIG. 1 to the full line configuration. It will be appreciated that such movement of arm 52 causes the teeth of the plates to be embedded into the opposite sides of the stringer and over the damaged portion thereof. In the preferred embodiment of the press hereof, 20 tons of pressure is'exerted by the platens on the plates and stringer. This is significant since such force embeds the plates into the side faces of the stringer to the extent that the outer faces of the plates lie flush with the side faces of the stringer. This avoids catching on the tines tures are provided in the ends of plates 78 and and receive the bearing 76, whereby arm 52 is pivotally mounted relative to arm 50. Arm 52 is also supported on a bearing plate 82 (FIG. 4) which is in turn secured to a support plate 84 by screws 86. Supportplate 84 is suitably secured adjacent the upper end of plate 14 and braced by gussets 88. An end of arm 52 carries a platen in substantial lateral opposition to plate 64 carried by fixed arm 50, the platen 90 carrying magnets 92 in its laterallyprojecting platen face for holding a rein of forklifts and precludes withdrawal of the teeth from embedment in the stringer. Once the plates are embedded, the hydraulic cylinder 94 is actuated to retract the piston rod 98 whereby the arm 52 is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction as seen in FIG. 1. This action moves platen 90 away from the stringer permitting the pallet to be shifted on the frames 24 to locate another damaged portion of the stringer in repair position or to be withdrawn from between the arms 50 and 52.

Thus, it will be appreciated that the objects of the present invention are fully accomplished by the foregoing described press in that there is provided an economically constructed, simply operated press for repairing the stringers of pallets. Further, the press is constructed such thatrepair of a pallet is readily and quickly accomplished by a single workman. Moreover, the application of reinforcing plates to the opposite sides of the press affords an economical repair of the pallet which considerably extends the useful life of the pallet. g

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope. of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

l. A press for repairing pallets of the type having a pair of stringers and a plurality of deckboards overlying the stringers, the press being adapted to embed the struck teeth of a sheet metal reinforcing plate into one side of a pallet stringer comprising:

a press base;

a press frame carried by said base and including a pallet support surface;

a pair of elongated press elements carried by said press base and carrying press platens adjacent like 7 ends thereof; one of said elements being pivotally carried by said base at a location remote from the press platen carried thereby for movement of such press platen toward and away from the press platen carried by the other of said elements;

said platens being elevated above said support surface and in spaced lateral opposition one to the other for disposition on opposite sides of the stringer of a pallet disposed on said support surface;

means carried by one of said platens for holding a reinforcing plate between said one platen and the stringer;

means carried by said base for pivoting said one element and the platen carried thereby toward the other element and its platen; and

means carried by said base for providing a reaction force against which said one element presses when moved toward said other element thereby enabling said one element to embed the teeth of the reinforcing plate carried by the one platen into the pallet stringer disposed between the platens.

2. The press according to claim 1 wherein said pivoting means includes a fluid actuated cylinder mounted between the ends of said elements and on the side of the pivotal axis of said one element remote from said platens.

3. The press according to claim 1 wherein said support surface includes a plurality of rollers for supporting the pallet.

4. The press according to claim 3 wherein said rollers include a plurality of ball bearings spaces substantially horizontally one from the other and in a substantially common horizontal plane.

5. The press according to claim 1 wherein said other element is fixed to said press base.

6. The press according to claim 1 including means carried by the other of said platens for holding a reinforcing plate between said other platen and the stringer whereby the teeth of both of the reinforcing plates are embedded into opposite sides of the stringer disposed between the platens.

7. The press according to claim 6 wherein the respective means for supporting the reinforcing plates on the platens each includes a magnet carried by the platen.

8. The press according to claim 1 wherein said base is elongated and includes upstanding supports, said support surface includes a pair of outrigger support frames adjacent one end of said upstanding supports, each of said outrigger frames carrying a plurality of horizontally spaced roller bearings lying substantially in a common horizontal plane, said one element being pivotally carried by said base at a location intermediate its length and for movement in a generally horizontal plane, said pivoting means including a fluid actuated cylinder carried by said press base and coupled to said one element on the side of its pivotal axis remote from the platen carried thereby, means carried by the other of said platens for holding a reinforcing plate between said one platen and the stringer whereby the teeth of both of the reinforcing plates are embedded into opposite sides of the stringer disposed between the platens.

platens each includes a magnet carried by the platen. =l l= *zgggy UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFIOATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,823,861 Dated July lg. 1974 Inv n fls) JOHN CALVIN JUREIT and BENJAMIN HARRY KUSHNER It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

I" Col. 1, line .23, "th" should read --the--; line 28, "the" should read --pallet--.

Col. 3, line 47, "slates" should read --plates--.

Col. 6, line 1, claim 4, "spaces" should read --spaced-- I Signed and sealed this 12th day of November 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

McCOY M. GIBSON JR. C. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. A press for repairing pallets of the type having a pair of stringers and a plurality of deckboards overlying the stringers, the press being adapted to embed the struck teeth of a sheet metal reinforcing plate into one side of a pallet stringer comprising: a press base; a press frame carried by said base and including a pallet support surface; a pair of elongated press elements carried by said press base and carrying press platens adjacent like ends thereof; one of said elements being pivotally carried by said base at a location remote from the press platen carried thereby for movement of such press platen toward and away from the press platen carried by the other of said elements; said platens being elevated above said support surface and in spaced lateral opposition one to the other for disposition on opposite sides of the stringer of a pallet disposed on said support surface; means carried by one of said platens for holding a reinforcing plate between said one platen and the stringer; means carried by said base for pivoting said one element and the platen carried thereby toward the other element and its platen; and means carried by said base for providing a reaction force against which said one element presses when moved toward said other element thereby enabling said one element to embed the teeth of the reinforcing plate carried by the one platen into the pallet stringer disposed between the platens.
 2. The press according to claim 1 wherein said pivoting means includes a fluid actuated cylinder mounted between the ends of said elements and on the side of the pivotal axis of said one element remote from said platens.
 3. The press according to claim 1 wherein said support surface includes a plurality of rollers for supporting the pallet.
 4. The press according to claim 3 wherein said rollers include a plurality of ball bearings spaces substantially horizontally one from the other and in a substantially common horizontal plane.
 5. The press according to claim 1 wherein said other element is fixed to said press base.
 6. The press according to claim 1 including means carried by the other of said platens for holding a reinforcing plate between said other platen and the stringer whereby the teeth of both of the reinforcing plates are embedded into opposite sides of the stringer disposed between the platens.
 7. The press according to claim 6 wherein the respective means for supporting the reinforcing plates on the platens each includes a magnet carried by the platen.
 8. The press according to claim 1 wherein said base is elongated and includes upstanding supports, said support surface includes a pair of outrigger support frames adjacent one end of said upstanding supports, each of said outrigger frames carrying a plurality of horizontally spaced roller bearings lying substantially in a common horizontal plane, said one element being pivotally carried by said base at a location intermediate its length and for movement in a generally horizontal plane, said pivoting means including a fluid actuated cylinder carried by said press base and coupled to said one element on the side of its pivotal axis remote from the platen carried thereby, means carried by the other of said platens for holding a reinforcing plate between said one platen and the stringer whereby the teeth of both of the reinforcing plates are embedded into opposite sides of the stringer disposed between the platens.
 9. The press according to claim 8 wherein said other element is fixed to said press frame, said upstanding supports including a pair of laterally spaced openings adjacent the base of the press frame for receiving the tines of a forklift truck whereby movement of the press is facilitated.
 10. The press according to claim 9 wherein the respective means for holding the reinforcing plates on the platens each includes a magnet carried by the platen. 